Republicans Vote Once Again for Budget that Ends Medicare Guarantee, Pass Bill to Cut Taxes for the Wealthy

For Immediate Release:

April 20, 2012

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

This week, House Republicans voted once again for their budget that ends the Medicare guarantee and hurts our economic recovery, while cutting taxes for the wealthy. They also unveiled more specific details of their budget, including spending cuts to critical programs that millions of Americans rely on. Instead of putting forward a balanced deficit reduction plan that asks all Americans to pay their fair share, Republicans are focused on a plan that places the burden of deficit reduction on the most vulnerable among us.

I was also disappointed that Republicans voted for an across-the-board tax cut for the wealthy. This tax cut adds $46 billion to the deficit and does not require recipients to create jobs or invest in the U.S. While Republicans claim the tax cut would help small businesses, it is not targeted to do so. Nearly half of the tax cut would go to people with an annual income of $1 million and only 16 percent of the tax cut would benefit the majority of small-business employers making less than $200,000 a year. This bill is not a serious attempt to strengthen our economy and put more Americans back to work. It’s time for Republicans to work with Democrats on a bipartisan basis to create jobs and reduce our deficit in a balanced way.

Sincerely yours,

STENY H. HOYER

P.S. Please invite your friends and family to sign up for this newsletter to learn about what House Democrats are doing to lead America in a new direction.